To Assume is to Presume
by lawslave
Summary: "I think someone needs to go back to detective school," Erin whispered loudly from her seat.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: A short story (compared to my last one) that I've had on the back burner and born from an idea I got after seeing the photo selected as the cover image._

Chapter 1

"Hey," Jamie called out to his brother as he neared the empty bar stool next to him. "Figured I would have beat you here," he said, surprised to find his brother already nursing a beer.

Danny looked over his shoulder at his younger brother. "Hey, kid," he greeted. "Nah, Baez and and I decided to clock out on time before Gromley stuck us with another case."

"Hey, Detective," Jamie said as he leaned forward to acknowledge his brother's partner. He then waved down the bartender for a beer.

Maria sent a smile his way. "Please, it's Maria when we're off duty," she corrected the young officer. "It's good to see you, Jamie."

"How come you don't tell me to call you Maria when we're off duty?" Danny complained.

Maria cocked an eyebrow at her partner. "I've never told you not to. I think you sometimes forget I have a first name," she said before taking a quick drink. "And how often do I actually see your mug off duty?" she pointed out.

"True that," Danny conceded. "We got to have beers more often," he declmotionedidurned to his brother. "So how are things with your partner, kid? Any better?"

"Sounds like you forget your brother's first name, too," Maria said in a mock whisper.

"All right, already," Danny growled playfully.

Jamie chuckled at the exchange as he accepted a pint from the bartender. "Better. Vinny's not so bad, he just took some getting used to, I guess."

"You two not getting along?" Maria asked.

"Not at first. I don't know, he seemed a little full of himself sometimes, had his own idea about how to do everything and he seemed to forget he had a partner most times," Jamie explained.

"I know the type," Maria mumbled as she not so discretely glanced at her own partner.

Danny turned his whole upper body to face Maria. "And you wonder why we never hang out off duty?" he asked.

Maria smirked at her partner. "Well it's good that things are better. Nothing worse than riding next to a guy you can't stand. Had that my third year on the force," she revealed.

"What happened?" Jamie asked, always curious about how other partnerships worked.

"Guy was a dinosaur. Wasn't into having a 'lady partner'. I told him if he called me that one more time, I wouldn't be the only lady in the partnership," she grumbled.

Danny snorted just as he was bringing his glass up to his mouth.

Jamie laughed at her response. "I bet he loved that."

Maria shook her head. "Wasn't long before he retired. Worst six months of my life," Maria recalled before going back to her drink.

"Oh, crap!" Danny barked as he looked at his phone.

"What's the matter?" Jamie asked.

"I'm supposed to meet Linda in half an hour for a school thing for Jack. I completely forgot," he said as he frantically typed a message out on his phone.

"In Staten Island? At this time? You better haul ass," Jamie advised.

"She's gonna have my hide. Told me ten times this week not to be late," Danny moaned. "Sorry, but I'm gonna bail. Beers are on me," he said as he reached into his pocket and slapped a few bills onto the bar top.

"So its a win-win for us," Maria said as she reached over to tap Jamie's glass with her own.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Great, from one ball buster to another. See ya later," he said as he hurried out of the bar.

"Bye, Danny."

"See ya, Reagan."

Jamie moved over on to the stool his brother had vacated. "So what's it like working with him?" he asked as he pointed toward the door.

"What was it like living with him?" Maria shot back, but then considered the question. "Your brother's a great cop. He's a good detective and partner, just bossy and implulsive sometimes," she shared with a grin.

"So you got to keep him in line, is that what you're saying?"

"I don't know that you Reagans know how to get in line," she replied.

"Depends on which one of us you're referring to," he corrected.

"That why he calls you a Boy Scout?" she asked with a knowing grin plastered on her face.

Jamie looked away as his lips pressed into a shy smile.

Maria could see a slight blush rising on his cheeks which she found endearing. "So is it true what Danny says, you went law school and then decided to become a cop?"

Jamie pursed his lips and nodded before he looked over at her. "Yeah," he confirmed.

Maria looked surprised. "Wow. Kinda thought he was lying about that," she said.

"Because who'd be dumb enough to go through the trouble of law school first before switching to law enforcement?" he asked, repeating the usual thought most people had when they'd hear about his career change.

"No, 'cuase it's rare for someone in a profession like that to actually reconsider having sold their soul to the devil. It's a pretty admirable move, Jamie," she said.

"I don't know if it was admirable. I just realized it wasn't my calling," he clarified. "Although, it would have been better if I realized that before the three years of law school."

"I get it," she said. "But look at it this way, I bet with those three years of law school, you see things a lot differently than most other beat cops and that makes you better than most out there."

They gazed at each other for a few moments and exchanged smiles before Jamie looked away nervously.

"Uh, so, you want another one?" he asked while pointing at her near empty glass. "I think Danny was in such a hurry, we can actually have another round," he stopped to shuffle through the bills on the bar, "or two. He must be in a lot of trouble," Jamie deduced from the amount of money his brother left behind.

Maria smirked and waved down the bartender. "Who am I to say no to a free drink?" she replied.

"All right, then," he followed and sneaked a glance at Maria before eyeing the bartender.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So how much hot water did you get into last night?" Maria asked. She sat in the passenger seat of the squad car, as usual, on her way to interview a victim with her partner.

Danny smirked as he guided the car down Sixth Avenue. "Not too much. I was only about four minutes late," he said proudly.

Maria chuckled and glanced in his direction. "You had the lights going the whole way, didn't you?" she asked.

"Seriously?" he asked incredulously. "I wouldn't do that," he declared.

"Sure you wouldn't," she whispered, knowing he so would to prevent himself from ending up in the dog house.

Danny frowned at her assumption. "Well, anyway, sorry I left you hanging with my kid brother last night."

Maria laughed, remembering their conversation from the night before. "You really don't know his first name, do ya?" she joked.

Danny rolled his eyes.

Maria faced forward and addressed his apology. "And why are you sorry? We had a good time. You left enough cash to cover two more rounds, by the way, which we took complete advantage of, thank you very much," she said.

Danny was surprised to hear that. "You two really stuck around drinking a couple more rounds?" he asked.

"Yeah," Maria replied and looked at her partner. She didn't understand the slightly pinched expression on his face. "What's with the look?"

Danny shrugged as he tried to focus on both traffic and their conversation. "I don't know. Wouldn't think you two would have a lot to talk about," he explained.

"What do you mean? We're both cops, born and raised in New York. Jamie's a really nice guy. Smart too, obviously. He's a sweetheart with none of that stupid, macho crap most guys got going on," she said, her expression softening as she spoke. "Cute, too," she added while looking in the opposite direction from her partner.

Maria turned to Danny again when the silence dragged on in the car and found him giving her a look as they stopped at a light.

"What? It's true," she confirmed. "If you ever sit and hang with him and look past the kid brother label you give him, you'd see all that, too," she told him.

Danny frowned. "Of course I see that, but he's my kid brother," he clarified.

Maria rolled her eyes at the use of the nickname again.

* * *

Maria smiled at the text she received and promptly typed in a reply. It hadn't been more than a minute later, while she was taking a bite of her lunch, that her phone signaled another incoming message and she quickly reached for it.

"You gonna get any work done today or are ya gonna text whoever all day?" Danny grumbled from across his desk where he was poking inside a takeout container.

Baez's head snapped up. "What?" she asked innocently. "We're on meal. I can do what I want," she pointed out.

Danny stuffed some noodles into his mouth and aimed his fork in her direction. "You've been typing away on that thing the last few days like you're writing the next great American novel," he complained.

Baez grimaced at the way he spoke with his mouth full. "I got friends. We text. And it don't get in the way of work, so beat it," she ordered as she typed some more just to prove her point.

"So who's the new friend?" he asked while eyeing her phone suspiciously.

Baez looked up at him again. "Who says they're new?"

"'Cause your new texting habit only started up in the last week," Danny explained when a grin appeared on his face. "You got a new guy?"

Baez's head jerked back in surprise. "What? No! I text all the time. And mind your own business, Reagan," she said distractedly, but was unable to hide a smile as her phone dinged and she read another incoming message.

"Oh, brother," Danny mumbled as he dived back into his lo mein container.

"'Oh brother' is right," she mumbled with a smirk, leaving her partner confused.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Where's Jamie?" Linda asked as she retook her seat in the stands.

The whole family was out on Saturday morning to cheer on Jack and his soccer team in the first round of a weekly series of playoff games.

"He called, said he was running late," Frank answered from where he sat next to Henry, a row in front of Danny and Linda.

"From what?" Danny asked as he clapped for one of the other kids after an impressive block.

"I don't know. I didn't ask," Frank replied while following the action on the field. "Pass me a water, please," he requested.

Linda was pulling a bottle out of the cooler for Frank when Jamie climbed the bleachers and took a seat next to his father.

"Hey, everybody. Sorry I'm late," Jamie apologized as he searched the field for his nephew and spotted him on the sidelines.

"Hey, Jamie," several family members called out in unison.

Danny inspected his brother and smiled mischievously. "Well don't you look...rumpled," he commented from behind.

Jamie looked back at his brother before looking down at his shirt and jeans, not noticing anything _that_ out of the ordinary. "Huh?"

Erin was sitting next to her older brother and leaned forward to give Jamie a once over. She couldn't help but smirk. "Did you just roll out of bed?" It was odd that he'd be wearing a dress shirt to a kid's soccer game.

"What?" Jamie asked, letting them think he was oblivious as to what they were referring to. He had been out late and almost slept through Jack's soccer game, but he wasn't going to admit that to his family.

"You been home since yesterday, lover boy?" Danny teased. He wasn't one to let an opportunity to torment a sibling pass. Although not a total mess, Jamie looked like he came straight from a long night out, or maybe a long night in with someone.

"Knock it off," Jamie ordered over his shoulder as they all jumped from their seats when Jack's team blocked another goal.

Once they had all settled down again, Erin asked, "Why were you late?" She wasn't blind to the slight change in Jamie's demeanor the last few weeks. He seemed a little more chipper than usual.

"Had things to do," Jamie replied, trying extra hard to focus on the game.

Danny snorted. "Things or some-" he began to say.

"Danny, the kids," Linda interrupted as she nodded to Sean, who sat between them.

Frank and Henry exchanged smiles and turned back to the game.

Sean rolled his eyes. "Do have a new girlfriend, Uncle Jamie?" he asked.

Jamie closed his eyes and shook his head, but otherwise ignored the question.

"Sean," Linda said.

"What?" Sean asked innocently. "Isn't that what you're all referring to? Why don't you just come out and ask him?" he inquired. Adults were annoying sometimes, he thought.

Henry let out a laugh. "Smart boy," he said.

"He'll make an excellent detective one day," Frank added.

"We should really focus on the game. Jack's going back in," Jamie pointed out.

"Don't change the subject," Danny said. Something was up with his kid brother and he wanted to know what it was, or who it was, in this case.

"We weren't really discussing any particular subject. You were all just throwing out silly questions," Jamie argued.

"I think Uncle Jamie's got a new girlfriend," Nicky sang from the other end of the row.

Jamie leaned forward to catch her eye. "You too?" he accused.

"Well, you should have at least shaved before you came over," Erin snickered.

Jamie's eyes widened a bit when he cupped one side of his face and felt a day's growth. "Whatever," he said and reached for his phone when he felt it vibrate. Jamie looked down and smiled at the text he'd received, not hesitating to reply back.

"But you have a new friend, huh?" Danny guessed.

Jamie shook his head and turned to the action. "Told Maria you'd be relentless," he grumbled.

Danny frowned at the statement, not sure what his brother meant, but got distracted when Jack got control of the ball.

The family redirected their attention to the game, cheering Jack along. Danny, however, couldn't help but glance at his brother every so often - his brother, who hadn't stopped texting back and forth with someone. He stared at Jamie for a few minutes when something clicked and his eyes widened almost comically - the texting, the timing of it all, Jamie's comment just now, his partner's comments a while back...his partner!

Nicky was talking to Sean when she spotted the strange look on her older uncle's face. "What's wrong, Uncle Danny?"

Danny narrowed his eyes at the back of Jamie's head.

Jamie was just putting his phone away and turned to glance behind when he heard Nicky's question. When he saw his brother's glare, he did a double take, wondering what his problem was now. "What?" he asked.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me," Danny growled at Jamie.

Frank was confused by Danny's tone and question. "Who are you talking to and kidding about what?" he asked as he pivoted to look at his oldest child.

All other eyes turned to Danny as well, Jack's game all but forgotten.

"Jamie!" Danny called out.

"What is your deal?" Jamie replied.

"You can't do that!" Danny ordered.

"Do what?" Henry asked, just confused as the rest of them.

Jamie shrugged as he glanced at his grandfather.

"Seriously?" Danny asked.

Jamie turned to his brother for a quick moment. "Seriously, what, Danny? What's your problem?" he said. The lack of sleep was allowing him to get easily irritated with his brother's odd behavior.

"Where you going to tell me?" Danny continued with his interrogation, not that he'd gotten any answers yet.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Tell you what?" Jamie replied.

"What the hell is going on?" Frank asked.

"It's like he's speaking in code the rest of us don't get," Henry commented.

Danny looked at the family and then at Jamie. "You want to tell them or should I?"

"I have no idea what you're referring to," Jamie repeated forcefully. He felt like he was in the twilight zone or something.

"Neither do I," Erin said, shaking her head in utter confusion.

"Whatever it is, it's gotta be really good," Nicky commented.

Danny's face contorted and grew red. "He's seeing Baez," he announced.

"What?" Linda asked. Completely caught off guard by her husband's declaration, her head turned from Danny to her brother-in-law and back again repeatedly. "Really?"

Jamie's eyes widened. "What?! How'd you even...," he began to say, but when the shock of what his brother had said passed and his words really sank in, he started to think that his brother was a real piece of work sometimes. Now the whole family was eyeing him, waiting for an answer.

"Isn't that your partner, Uncle Danny?" Nicky asked. She was right, this was going to be good.

"She certainly is," Danny confirmed. His eyes had yet to leave his brother.

"That's what this is about?" Jamie asked Danny.

"Yes!" Danny confirmed.

Jamie glared back at him. "There's no dating going on," he tried assuring his brother.

But Danny's mind seemed to tumble into the gutter. "Oh, God, that's even worse, Jamie!" he shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Jamie asked, at a loss as to how Danny even put this together.

All of the adults looked between Danny and Jamie, curious to see how this would pan out.

"She's pretty," Sean commented.

"Sean," Linda admonished.

"What?" Sean asked innocently. "She is," he added and shrugged.

"Oh, jeez," Jamie mumbled as he dropped his head into his hands. "Unbelievable," he whispered.

Danny wasn't ready to let this drop, playing it out like one of his witness interrogations, although Jamie was turning more and more into a perp in his eyes. "So answer me this, have you been texting my partner?"

Jamie's brow furrowed, confused by why that even mattered. "Yeah, so? She's a friend," he answered.

"A friend?" Danny asked, his brows shooting up into his hairline. "So all of a sudden Baez is your friend? And have you gone out with her?"

Jamie pursed his lips as he considered how to answer. "Technically, yes, but not like you think...actually, you know what? You're jumping to conclusions and I don't need to explain myself. I'm gonna go watch the game over there without the third degree."

And that was the end of that as Jamie stomped off the bleachers and sat in the next section with the away team's fans.

The rest of the crowd around them cheered as Jack's teammate scored a goal. The Reagan family remained in their seats, still trying to figure out what had just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The game was over, Jack's team having pulled out a tough win in the end. Jamie had beat the rest of the family over to his nephew to congratulate him on his victory and hightailed it out of the park to avoid anymore questions and confrontations. And to also go home and get some sleep after a long night out.

The family was hanging out by the bleachers celebrating the victory with some ice cream, while Danny stewed a few feet away. He couldn't understand how his brother could be screwing around with his partner behind his back. It was weird. She was his partner, like a sister almost, and for Jamie to be dating her, or to be a friend with benefits or whatever, just defied all logic in his mind. It was wrong, like breaking 'bro code', and he felt betrayed by both his brother and his partner.

Frank approached while he nibbled on the edge of his cone. "So," he said while looking out across the empty soccer field.

Danny took a peak at his father as he neared and redirected his gaze. "So," he replied.

"You going to talk to your brother without the twenty questions? The accusations?" Frank asked.

"Uh, I don't know if you heard, but the accusations are spot on, Dad," Danny reminded him.

"You don't know that. You need to get his side of the story first. And your partner's," he advised.

Danny snorted in disgust over the situation.

Frank new his oldest was hard headed, but it never failed to amaze him just how much so. "Well, just hear him out first, Danny. If it is what you think it is, well, they're adults, right? And they're not breaking any rules, so you'll just have to deal with it."

Danny looked at his father like he wasn't getting the big picture. "Deal with it? That's your advice: to deal with it? You don't see how wrong this is? And what if things don't work out, huh?"

Frank sighed. "Again, if it is what you're thinking, I understand how it could be a little uncomfortable in the beginning-"

"A little? Seriously?" Danny interrupted.

"- but it's out of your hands and he's still your brother and she's still your partner, a very smart and capable one, I might add. Those are hard to come by," he pointed out. "Especially one that'll put up with you," Frank joked.

Danny shook his head and sighed.

"Come on, Son. It's not the end of the world. Now go celebrate your son's victory. That's why we're here."

* * *

Danny, of course, continued to stew. Avoiding his brother and the topic of his partner through the end of the weekend which made for a quiet Sunday dinner.

On Monday, he couldn't help but feel awkward around his partner but was unable to address the elephant he felt was in the room. Maria seemed a little guarded around him as well. Danny assumed that Jamie had filled her in on the cat being let out of the bag and that was the reason for her serious demeanor and the few evil eyes she'd thrown his way. He'd caught her texting a few times during some down and had noticed how she smiled at whatever messages she was getting in response, surely from Jamie.

By the time they went on meal on Tuesday, however, Maria had had enough and suggested they go to a small diner near the precinct to talk.

When they sat down to lunch, she let him have it.

"You know, Reagan, I didn't think you would be one of those guys full of the usual macho, territorial bull crap." She paused to release a humorless laugh as she re-thought her last statement. "Correction, I kinda knew you were, but you seem to be real good at reigning it in," she began.

Danny was a little taken back by her tone. "Hey, if anyone should be upset, it's me! You and my kid brother-"

"His name is Jamie," she reminded him with a glare.

"- have been seeing each other behind my back," he said just before holding up a few fingers to continue on with his point. "One, it's wrong and two, I deserved to know first," Danny told her.

Maria shook her head. She was ready to wring his neck and needed a moment before she responded, but it wasn't long before she did and she held up a few fingers at him as well. "One, there's nothing wrong with a detective spending some time with a patrol officer, trust me, I checked, and two, it's none of your business," she said. Maria leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest as she readied herself to reveal some facts about what had been going on. "But yes, your brother and I have been spending some time together while off duty, texting each other and just having a plain old good time. He's even met some of my family," she revealed with a slight smirk.

Danny was surprised by how up front she was being about her thing with Jamie.

Maria leaned forward in her seat, her hands neatly folded on the table in front of her as she met her partner's gaze. "And unless you want to ruin the partnership we have, you need to zip it on me and Jamie. I mean it, Reagan! I deal with enough macho bull crap on this job because I'm a woman to have my partner feeling territorial or thinking he has a right to have any input on my choices outside of the department, especially when I'm doing nothing wrong. I won't stand for it and I won't hesitate to request a change," she threatened.

Danny knew she was right, no matter how much the idea of her dating his little brother would irk him. And in the end, he didn't want to lose her; she was a solid partner.

Danny deflated before her eyes. "You're right," he said. "And I don't want to do anything to ruin our partnership. This, well, this thing with Jamie is just a surprise and it's going to take some time to get used to it so just cut me a little slack, huh?"

A small smile crossed Maria's face. She couldn't wait to tell Jamie about their talk.

"My only request is that there be no PDA between you and Jamie when I'm around," he added.

Maria's smile grew. "Don't worry, Reagan. You won't be seeing any of that."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Last chapter. I appreciate the reviews!_

Chapter 5

Danny stopped at the entrance to the bar, searching for his brother and spotting him near the back. He made his way through the Friday night crowd and parked himself in the empty stool next to Jamie.

"Hey," he greeted, his face clearly showing some anxiety about this meeting.

Jamie looked over at Danny. His own face remained stoney and he quickly busied himself with his drink to hide his own discomfort.

Danny sat quietly, hoping Jamie would get the ball rolling first, but it didn't appear that was going to happen, so he took a deep breath and began. "So listen, this thing with Baez, it just kind of took me by surprise," he explained.

"No kidding," Jamie replied.

"Jamie, you got to understand how weird this is for me."

"Why would it be weird for you?" Jamie asked.

Danny couldn't hide his irritation at the fact that his brother could be so dense. "Are you really asking me that question?!" he asked.

"If this is going to turn into another shouting match, then let's not do this at all," Jamie replied as he got off his stool and picked up his jacket.

Danny grabbed Jamie's arm to prevent him from leaving. "All right, all right, hold up. Jamie, come on. All I ask is that you see it from my side," he pleaded. "Please."

Jamie rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, letting himself fall back onto his bar stool. He considered the situation for a few moments before meeting Danny's eyes. "Okay. I guess if things go south, your partner could possibly get upset with me and say something-"

"Possibly?" Danny interrupted.

" and that might make things weird between you two. I can understand that," he conceded.

"Thank you."

"But Maria and I talked about it and she said it would in no way affect your partnership, whether it works out or not. I am an adult and I can choose who I want to see and date regardless of whether you and Maria work together," Jamie declared.

"Yes. Okay," Danny agreed reluctantly.

"So no more attitude?" Jamie asked and waited until Danny turned his head in his direction. "I mean, me? I'm used to it, but I don't think you'd want to lose your partner over this."

"No, I do not," Danny confirmed.

"So you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Danny groaned. "All I told her, and I'll tell you the same thing, no PDA please," he ordered.

Jamie chuckled. "Yeah, she told me that. Agreed. There will be no PDA between me and Maria Baez," he confirmed and clapped his hands in triumph. "Well, great! I'm glad that's taken care of because I really wanted to bring a date to Jack's championship game tomorrow morning."

Danny grimaced. "Really? Already hanging with the family?"

"Yeah, why not? It'll be a chance for the family to get to know her," Jamie explained. "I really like her, Danny," he shared.

Danny could see that Jamie meant it and did his best to replace the grimace with a forced, strained smile. "Sounds good."

Jamie smiled widely. He couldn't wait until tomorrow morning. "Great! I'll text her right now," he advised and pulled his phone out to send the invitation.

* * *

"So he's really bringing her?" Erin asked. She couldn't believe Jamie had the balls to bring Baez to the soccer game considering the last outing at the park. And then she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face - good for Jamie, she thought. It was good to see him standing up for himself against Danny, plus she knew this outing would be as equally entertaining, if not more so than the last.

"Yup," Danny said while trying to maintain an even tone.

"Sweet," Sean said.

"Sean," Linda called out. She was afraid this was going to turn into a repeat of the first playoff game.

"How do you feel about that?" Henry asked, curious to see if he'd get an honest answer.

"How do I feel?" Danny repeated, then plastered a fake smile onto his face. "I feel fine. Just peachy," he answered.

Frank chuckled. "Sure you do," he said as he adjusted his ball cap.

"Just remember to bite your tongue if you get any of those regular urges to make snide remarks," Erin advised and smiled brightly in his direction.

Danny glared at his sister, biting his tongue already to keep himself from lashing out at her.

"Hey, everyone," Jamie greeted the group.

The family turned toward Jamie as he came up one side of the bleachers, expecting to find him and Maria Baez. Instead, they all looked at each other in confusion when they caught sight of the petite brunette with a slightly familiar smile holding Jamie's hand.

Jamie smiled as he motioned to his guest. "I want you all to meet Sofia Baez. She's Maria's sister," he announced.

Erin was the first to react as her hand shot up to cover her mouth and hold back the laughter that was threatening to escape. Linda and Nicky looked on with grins on both of their faces. Sean's eyebrows shot up when he realized there was more than one pretty Baez. Henry and Frank smiled widely and looked at each other before glancing at Danny, who gaped at the young couple, in utter confusion

Jamie introduced his date to each member of the family. Everyone, except, for Danny had smiles on their faces as they greeted the young woman.

"Sofia, this is my brother Danny, Maria's partner. You two haven't met, right?

"No we haven't, but I've heard a lot about you, Detective. It's nice to finally meet you," the young woman greeted.

"Uh, hi, yeah and please, it's, uh, just Danny," he stammered as he looked to his brother, silently asking for an explanation to this whole mess.

Jamie just grinned widely at his brother before guiding Sofia to the row in front of the rest of the family, where they took their seats for the game. Jamie was pointing Jack out to his date while snickers erupted here and there from various family members at the look of confusion that remained on Danny's face.

Halfway throughout the first half of the game, Danny felt his cell phone vibrate and found a message from Maria Baez.

 _you're going to have to brush up on your investigative skills, partner_

 _btw, be nice to my sister or you will have to answer to me_

Danny shook his head, still baffled, but he couldn't help the short laugh that escaped.

* * *

Jamie was in the kitchen, helping Henry chop vegetables when Danny, Erin and the rest of the family arrived. Considering he hadn't had an opportunity to talk to Jamie at the game, Danny didn't let but a second pass after his arrival before he was on his brother. Linda had warned him to be on his best behavior during the rest of the game, not only out of respect for Jamie's guest, but because the sole reason they were there in the first place was to cheer on their son.

Danny stomped up to the other side of the island, opposite Jamie. "So what the hell was up with the little game you and Baez played?" he asked.

Jamie glanced up quickly, appearing to be the picture of innocence. "What game and which Baez are we talking about?"

Henry snorted next to him, while a few chuckles came from the kitchen table where Frank read the paper and Erin had settled in for the show she knew was coming. Sean and Nicky stood quietly in one corner of the kitchen in the hopes they'd also be able to observe without being sent out of the room. Jack was the only one oblivious to the whole situation.

Danny glared at his grandfather, before addressing Jamie. "Don't be a smart ass," he ordered.

Jamie's eyes widened. "I'm not."

"You said you'd been texting my partner and that you even went out with her, Jamie," Danny reminded him.

Jamie nodded while he still focused on the knife and celery in his hands. "We did text, when she was trying to play match maker between me and Sofia," he explained. "She's real persistent, that partner of yours."

Danny's forehead furrowed. "You also said you went out with her. And she defended herself about seeing a patrolman. How do you do that and then end up going out with her sister, huh?"

Jamie smiled as he recalled that first encounter. "Yeah, when she introduced us, we double dated with her and the cop she's been seeing, real good guy out of the 3-6, a vet patrolman. Have you met him?"

Danny ignored the laughter coming from behind him. He was both irritated and confused by this whole thing, feeling as if he'd been punked, and he didn't like it at all. "Then why would you two carry on and make me think-"

Jamie put down the knife and pointed a finger back at Danny. "Hold up," he interrupted. "We didn't make you think anything. You made assumptions and accusations and flew off the handle all on your own, big brother," he clarified.

"I think someone needs to go back to detective school," Erin whispered loudly from her seat.

Danny gave her the evil eye before turning back to Jamie. "Then you should have explained everything at the game the first time around! We could have avoided this whole mess!"

"You wouldn't let me with the interrogation you had going on. I told you we weren't dating and you took that to mean something dirty. You know there's no stopping you when you're on a roll, right?" Jamie told him.

"Yeah, we all know that," Linda confirmed.

"Really?" Danny threw at his wife.

Linda held her hands up defensively. "Hey, Jamie's right on this one, Babe. Once you get going..."

Frank approached the island and stood next to his oldest, clapping his back gently. "Well son, you know what they say, 'when you assume, you make an ass -"

Knowing he'd been thoroughly put in his place, Danny deflated before their eyes. "All right, all right. I get it! I assumed incorrectly and I'm sorry, but it still doesn't mean you two should of let this go like some little game."

"Needed to teach you a lesson," Jamie said.

"Nice work, little brother," Erin praised.

"Yeah. By the way, Sofia seems really nice," Linda added.

"Pretty, too," Sean commented.

Jamie glanced at his nephew before addressing his brother. "You guys start having the talk with him yet?"


End file.
